Man bitten by shark off Beaufort Inlet North Carolina

A South Carolina man was rushed to shore about 3 p.m. Thursday after he was bitten by a bull Shark 13 miles off Beaufort Inlet. Donnie White, 54, of Lexington, was on a family fishing trip aboard the Sea Jewel, a 20-foot sport fishing boat, owned by city resident Jay Harris, when the attack occurred.

According to family members, the family had been fishing and decided to take a swim before running back inshore.

“We had finished fishing and decided to take a swim and cool off,” said one of the teens on the boat. “He was the last overboard and the last to the ladder.

As he reached the ladder we saw the shark and yelled, but he thought we were kidding. That’s when the shark bit him.”

Mr. White sustained deep lacerations to his lower right leg from the bite.

Once the victim was aboard the vessel, fellow fishermen used T-shirts and towels to form a bandage around the leg and elevated it.

After being informed of the boat’s location and that they were bringing in the injured man, rescue personnel were dispatched to the city’s waterfront. The boaters informed authorities they would be landing at the dock behind the Sanitary Restaurant.

A law enforcement escort was also requested to meet the boat carrying the injured man when it reached Beaufort Inlet.

Sgt. Jay Smith with Atlantic Beach Police Department Water Safety Patrol was aboard the town’s 25-foot inflatable boat and met the Sea Jewel at the inlet and escorted it to the dock where Morehead City Fire and Rescue personnel waited. Mr. White was transported to Carteret General Hospital for treatment.